9/14/2005

Somehow Not Surprised

When the settlers left, the greenhouses of Neve Dekalim were standing and ready for use. Jewish donors helped purchase 3,000 of them for use by the Palestinians after the Israel disengagment. They were a major source of income for the settlers and could have been for the Palestinians also. One slight problem though. After destroying the synagogues in Gaza, the looters then went on to the greenhouses. The looters carried off pumps, irrigation hoses, and other items necessary to allow the greenhouses to be able to flourish. 30% of the greenhouses were looted. If my math is correct that means that 1,000 of the greenhouses were affected. These greenhouses were built through the ingenuity of the Israeli settlers and were purchased for the Palestinians at a cost of $14 million dollars.

Palestinian police stood by helplessly Tuesday as looters carted off materials from greenhouses in several settlements, and commanders complained they did not have enough manpower to protect the prized assets. In some instances, there was no security and in others, police even joined the looters, witnesses said.Yahoo News

The question is often asked, are the Palestinian ready for self-government? A culture of death and hate runs through the Palestinians and is often fueled by Islamic clerics, groups such as Hamas, and even the PA's Fatah movement. A culture that seems to be idolatry in it's love of death and hate cannot hope to grow and improve the lives of those living in that culture. The only things allowed in such a culture are death and destruction. If the Palestinians would concentrate on building up instead of tearing down, they could improve their lives instead of playing blame games.